New York City {with kids}

We arrived at Laguardia Airport on Thursday evening after being one of those parents on the airplane whose kid screamed bloody hell the whole time. Surprisingly this has never happened to us before so I guess it was about time that one of our children (ari) lost it and showed us what it is really like to travel with kids.

Using Uber we arrived at our airbnb in the lovely suburb of Astoria, Queens. It was about the same time as our Instacart delivery with basic groceries to help us get through the next four days. This was D.’s idea and I can’t believe we had never tried it before. It was lovely not to make a pitstop at the grocery store especially when we hadn’t rented a car for this trip.

What follows is a snap-shot of what we did from that Thursday evening till our departure on the following Monday afternoon. Then stick around for the million pictures to prove yet again that you should travel with kids. Specifically, why you should travel with kids to New York City, hopefully for a Mets Game or the US Open. [ this even after wanting to jump off the plane when ari would not shut-up; the torture was worth it. Always will be. ]

THURSDAY EVENING ACTIVITIES

Freshen-up at the airbnb and stroll the neighborhood streets. Eat outdoor dinner at Talley’s Taverna and spot some tennis celebrities while eating our Greek salad, chicken kababs, prawns, and lots of fresh bread. House sangria was top-notch. Our server brought us a plate of Greek doughnuts drizzled in honey, on the house; I said I didn’t want any and then proceeded to eat four. We took the scenic way home and called it a night.

FRIDAY ACTIVITES

After a relaxed breakfast of cereal and milk at home, we walked to Astoria Park which is easily one of the top 3 parks I have ever been to in my life. I didn’t want to leave, forget what the kids thought. We walked to the Astoria Ferry stop after getting some coffee and cinnamon rolls from Astoria Provisions. The NYC Ferry dropped us off at Wall Street/Pier 11 stop and as D. put it “that was the best $11 he ever spent in his life.” I agree. We bought two smoothies off a cart and proceed to walk to New York Stock Exchange, Battery Park, hotdogs at a Nathan’s cart, Seaglass Carousel (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), WTC memorial, Brookfield Park Mall. Then Ubered it to the Meat Packing District to see Little Island, Rooftop Park at Pier 57, super good pizza dinner at Simo, and then a stroll on the Highline Park with ice cream. Then an Uber back to Astoria. Note: Nothing on this list should be skipped if you are ever in NY. With or without kids.

SATURDAY ACTIVITIES

Breakfast at home. Most of Saturday was reserved for Arthur Ashe Kids Day at the US Open. Around 2:00pm we took the Metro from there to Grand Central Station which is so lovely to show-off to kids, from there we walked to Bryant Park for ice cream and took a quick trip inside the New York Public Library. We walked through Time Square to Central Park where the kids loved playing on the lounging rocks and all the other playgrounds. We showed them the fountain from the movie Home Alone, and then walked to Patsy’s Pizzeria for an outdoor dinner. Everyone was tired and on the verge of losing it. They held it together through dinner but lost it during dessert at Magnolia Bakery on Upper West Side. With that we decided to Uber back to Astoria and call it a night.

SUNDAY ACTIVITIES

Breakfast at home. Relaxing and TV watching until it was time to head out for the Mets Citifield for a Game. I am not a sports person but even I enjoyed this. Baseball is infinitely more fun in person than on TV. The kids got to run the bases after the game. D. was in heaven. Then we took an Uber to Coney Island (expensive but worth is to save time). It was a sensory overload of the best kind. We ate fries, chicken nuggets, cotton candy, and pizza (which even from a dinky place tasted amazing). We rode the Wonder Wheel and loved the views. The Kids had a blast. Everyone has a blast. We Ubered it back home to Astoria.

MONDAY ACTIVITIES

Monday morning we ate breakfast at home and then packed up and took the train to the US OPEN. We checked in our bags at the event and spent the next few hours enjoying the grounds and matches. It was awesome to watch the games in person. It was crowded but less so because it was a Monday morning. Around 4:30 we took an Uber to Laguardia Airport. On the way, we received a message that our flight was cancelled. As luck would have it, we were early enough to board the 6:30pm flight (instead of 7:40pm flight) which had stuck around because it was delayed. No one lost it on the plane on the way back and for that we were very grateful.

And now for the pictures!